Abuse of the Environment is Impossible to Stop – Evaluate this Statement
Some may agree with this statement, including me personally, due to humanity’s ever-increasing
thirst for knowledge and improvements in people’s quality of life. There are so many people in the
world, so the environment is certain to be abused, damaged or destroyed. There is great demand on
resources like oil, wood, minerals, etc and this demand is only going to increase. With this increase,
also creates a massive surge in the amount of waste that we produce, and it is only a matter of time
until we reach an irreparable state where it can only get worse for the environment, as we have
finite resources on Earth. The ignorance of our species is also a major contributing factor to the
abuse of the environment, as we are too focused on going about our daily lives to even think about
the irreparable damage we are constantly doing to our environment, our planet, our home.
While some may agree, many disagree with this statement and instead show support of other views.
People should show concern for future generations, instead of adopting a lazy attitude when
tackling this important issue, as it will affect all of us in the long run. We should be acting to prevent
animal habitats from being destroyed and rare species becoming extinct. Many religious people will
take this standpoint. For example, Christians are taught to be good stewards, and to look after the
planet. They are taught that humans have been given responsibility to care for the world for God
and should live sustainably. This is seen in Psalm 24:1 where it states “The earth is the Lord’s and
everything in it” which shows that the world belongs to God and that Christians should take care of
it, which is an example of stewardship. In addition to Christianity, Islam also takes this standpoint
when arguing the abuse of the environment. Many Muslims believe human beings have
guardianship or khilafah of the planet, which means that each individual should act as
a guardian or khalifah. They will be held accountable for their guardianship on the Day of
Judgement. It is taught that humans should treat the world with respect, as it is not ours to abuse.
Guardianship allows humans to make use of the environment for their survival, but this must never
be taken to the level of exploitation, and therefore, Muslims disagree with the statement “abuse of
the environment is impossible to stop”
In conclusion, while some people, for example atheists like myself, agree with this statement and
believe that the abuse of the environment is impossible to stop due to the ever increasing
population and demand for energy and convenience, others, like Muslims and Christians, believe
that the world should be protected and should never be exploited, as their respective religious texts
teach that the world is a gift from God, and should not be abused.
Samuel Fletcher To10